Courthouse reopens to rave reviews

Friday

Nov 16, 2012 at 12:05 PMNov 16, 2012 at 3:57 PM

Cynthia Grau

The Historic Livingston County Courthouse held its grand re-opening Thursday afternoon, complete with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and tours through the newly renovated building.Opinions of the public were very positive of the work done on the 137-year-old courthouse."I'm just blown away by the main courtroom (which is now the county board room). That is just awesome. I don't even think it was open like that when I was a kid. I think this is where people come to do the county business and if things look like it's halfway done, what kind of message does that send? This looks very professional. It looks nice and it's clean. It's retained this historical look. The transoms over the doors and the old woodwork are a great feature they've kept," said Steve Walters, longtime Pontiac resident and Livingston County Zoning Department employee.Tim Dye, curator of the Pontiac-Oakland Automobile Museum, said that even though he's still new to the Pontiac area, he was able to see in the courthouse before renovations began."It's beautiful, it really is. I don't know the history of it but it seemed to have a 70s makeover look before and it's a lot classier looking now. They did a very nice job," Dye said. "This is definitely another attraction for the city. I also think it's very nice that the county has given the Livingston County Historical Society some space to display some county items in the courthouse. I think it could be a big draw. It's very fitting, at least, to have some of those things here."Others, including Jackie Snedecor, came through and just admired all the work that has been done."I think the restoration is magnificent. I think they've done a great job. I appreciate the fact that they've been able to take this beautiful, old building and keep it alive and restore it. It's fantastic," she said.And Joe Stock agreed."This is very nice. It's nice that they've incorporated the old in with the new. I like the county board room," Stock said.Pontiac Mayor Bob Russell also weighed in."I think it's amazing. I've been in this building thousands of times doing work over the years and to see this grand ballroom here (the county board room), it's just a real find. It's just beautiful and another great addition to our city," he said. "A lot of people are going to enjoy this. The Smithsonian is going to be here come February and the Smithsonian is very excited about this. They said they've never had a room like this to display their things,"Tours will continue in the courthouse today from 1 to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. Since it is a public building, the doors will be open Monday through Friday during business hours, except for holidays, and the public is always welcome.